A Short Film About Killing
(1988)
★ 7.6 IMDb · 413 votes
Year: 1988
Runtime: 85 мин
Country: Poland
Director: Кшиштоф Кесьлёвский
Cast: Mirosław Baka, Krzysztof Globisz, Jan Tesarz, Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Barbara Dziekan, Aleksander Bednarz, Jerzy Zass, Zdzisław Tobiasz, Artur Barciś, Krystyna Janda
Plot
Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.
The plot couldn't be simpler or its attack on capital punishment (and the act of killing in general) more direct - a senseless, violent, almost botched murder is followed by a cold, calculated, flawlessly performed execution (both killings shown in the most graphic detail imaginable), while the murderer's idealistic young defence lawyer ends up as an unwilling accessory to the judicial murder of his client.